Trick Guitar tone

A guitar with a metronome is a beautiful thing. It really is.

Having the ability to play songs and licks by yourself is great, but a metronome is there to keep your tempo and rhythm in check. Learning to keep a consistent rhythm to a song is so powerful that you'll be desired by most musicians if you can grasp this concept.

Think about what you'll get, simply by practicing with a cheap little metronome.

1. You'll learn to respect the tempo of a song.

...And song tempos deserve respect. You can't expect a guitar tune to sound that good when it's being played at any speed you choose and when you can simply disrupt that speed at any moment!

Tempos demand respect and order, and they deserve it. Respecting the tempo means:

• You'll be able to identify if you're rushing or lagging.
• Following a drummer in a band is easier.
• It makes you easier to play along with other guitarists.

It's all about identifying your own faults with the tempo and using it to accommodate others who you might be playing with. So, if you never want to play along with anyone in a band, fine.

Don't use a metronome, but you'll be missing out on a great deal of improvement.

* You'll be able to identify if you're rushing or lagging.

Sometimes you may not be fully aware how far from the tempo you really are. With your guitar and metronome working together, you'll never have to guess, and eventually, your brain will develop consistent rhythm on its own that will tick in your head like the gears of a machine.

* Following a drummer in a band easier.

Drummers are basically glorified metronomes. (Just kidding guys. I know that you do freakin' sweet rhythms that I can only dream of doing)

But, they are the prime suspects of keeping the beat that you need to follow. If you've been practicing with a metronome, it should really be a piece of cake and you won't have to have that awkward conversation at the next band rehearsal.

* It makes you easier to play along with other guitarists.

As much as you want to play better with others, others want to play better with you. With that skill of identifying your own rushing and lagging, you can almost sense the tempo between you and another guitarist.

2. It's a good way to mark your improvement of guitar speed.

If you take anything away from having a metronome with your guitar is knowing that it's a great way to keep track of your playing speed. You can look at the clearly-marked bpms on the device and increase them or decrease them to accommodate your playing level.

Really, the metronome is an awesome little guy that you'll want around with your guitar. Think about purchasing a cheap one.

Check out the wide selection of metronomes and other guitar equipment at the HTGT Online Guitar Store.



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How To Guitar Tune

When you do a few guitar scale exercises before you practice, you really have the chance to loosen up those phalanges for the work that needs to be done. We all really just want to dive into the material at hand, but a few good guitar scale exercises can get you ready.

Personally, I do eight different scales and practice riffs before I begin working on anything...

And that's after I've done a few nice finger stretches too.

This scale I'm going to show you is a Minor Pentatonic scale. I'm actually not much for learning the proper names and such, but I do believe that learning the association of notes within scales is very good for playing improvisational licks and solos.

(Which I lack. I'm more of a rhythm player confined to already written music myself.)

Here's the scale:

e------------------------------------------5---8--- b----------------------------------5---8----------- g--------------------------5---7------------------- D------------------5---7---------------------------
A----------5---7----------------------------------- E--5---8-------------------------------------------

The key to tackling any guitar scale exercise is to approach it first with a very slow and controlled manner so that you can be precise with your finger placement. Don't try to do too much at once.

You really want to work on being fluent and connected between each note.

When you feel that you're up to the task, speed it up slightly. If you have a metronome to keep time, that's fantastic.

If you can play the scale pretty well going in one direction, try it going in another. Then, try to go directly from one direction into the other.

As soon as you play the guitar scale exercise well at a slightly faster tempo, increase it again. Repeat over and over until you're basically flying all over the guitar neck and looking like a beast.

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How To Guitar Tune

The moment that you start to learn chords on the guitar is the moment you start getting ahead in the game. Just about ever song every created for the guitar contains a basic set of chords, and fortunately for us, most radio hits use all of the same chords and progressions.

That means that once you start buckling down and learning a few of the most popular chords, you can start to dominate the most of the guitar tunes written. Here is a step by step process of what it takes to really learn to play a guitar chord well.

1. Know how to place all your fingers properly.

You learn the chord and then figure out how to properly place your fingers onto the strings on the fret board. Be precise and take your time figuring it out if you have to because you want the best finger formation that will allow you to transition to other chords smoothly.

2. Have good posture.

For every chord that you learn, when you understand where to place your fingers, you should work on having correct posture with your fingers and wrist on the fret board. Try not to accommodate for a weird chord by angling your hand or fingers, but always keep your thumb in the back of the guitar neck with your hand perpendicular.

3. Know the strings that you should and should not strum.

Not every string on the guitar neck is going to be strummed for every chord. On the contrary, only a few strings might be struck at a time.

If you're reading a guitar tab, notice that all of the strings to be hit are marked with a number while all the strings to avoid are marked with an 'x'.

4. Strike the appropriate strings evenly within the chord.

You want to get a rich and balanced sound when you strum through any chord, so it's important to strike all of the strings evenly. Picture your hand moving through a smooth arced path as your pick hits the strings while keeping your hand's distance from the guitar consistent as you move through.

5. Practice placing your fingers quickly into the formation.

Now, your hands are not going to automatically be in this chord formation from the start, so you need to practice getting to that point. See how quickly that you can form this new chord and then strum a sound cleanly.

Do this over and over again until you feel comfortable.

6. Transition between another chord.

You'll know that you're ready to use this chord in a real song when you can transition between this chord and at least one other smoothly. Pick a chord that you've already learned and practice going back and forth between them until the transition is very smooth and easy to accomplish.

There are a lot of chords out there to learn, but most of the songs created use the same ones. Remember these steps the next time you come across a chord that you want to learn and you should be tackling songs with that chord in no time.



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How To Guitar Tune

If you sat down and thought about it, you could probably come up with a massive list of easy songs for guitar beginners. Seriously... it could go on and on.

This list that I've come up with contains songs that I've personally played and realized that most beginners would have a fun time tackling.

1. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day

Green Day are the masters of power chords and just like any other of their songs, this one is jam-packed with them. There's only a couple progressions to the entire song and a few neat lead riffs that should give any beginner a tiny ego boost when completed.



2. "Radio" by Alkaline Trio

Personally, I just love this song and Alkaline Trio is known for creating easy songs for guitar beginners since there's only one guitarist in the band.

I know that there are quite a few three person music groups, but it seems that they chose to take the Blink 182 route as opposed to like System of A Down (not counting the singer).



3. "Adam's Song" by Blink 182

Right there I just mentioned Blink 182, and here they are in the next song. "Adam's Song" is a good way to dive into Blink 182 since this one's a bit slower and helps you to realize their system of Intro/Verse/Chorus/Intro/Verse/Chorus/Bridge/Chorus.



4. "Wonderwall" by Oasis

If you're alive...

people want to hear this freaking song. Seriously, don't show your sorry face at a campfire unless you know this song, otherwise someone is going to call you out and accuse you of not knowing anything.

Well, let's hope that your friends are nicer than mine. Either way, this is another easy song for guitar beginners.



5. "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty

Tom Petty makes classics that just about anyone can play and "Free Fallin'" is one of them. If you enjoy this one, take a stab at "Mary Jane's Last Dance" too.

When I was in a classic rock band, all we ever got were requests for us to play Tom Petty. Again... pretty popular.



6. "Wild Thing" by The Troggs

This one is seriously easy and any bar that's had the drinks flowing for a least a couple hours is going to love it. Add this one to your line-up and watch those drunks go nuts...

...in a good way.



It's pretty interesting how some of the more easy songs for guitar beginners are some of the more popular ones. Try out a few of these and get the attention of your friends and family.

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How To Guitar Tune

Once delay for guitar came around, a whole bunch of new crazy stuff could be done and that's awesome. I believe that there are still plenty of things that are untouched in the realm of guitar effects, and the full value of guitar delay might be one of them.

But...

As much as guitar effects are cool, I think there's a certain responsibility that comes with them to serve the crowd and the song than just your ego.

So what are the awesome things that delay for guitar can be used for?

1. It's great for stand-alone guitar parts.

If it's just you and the crowd or you have a solo where the band is completely silent, let that delay pedal rip. You can create some pretty gnarly echoes and things that portray a certain level of mysticism and ambiance.

2. Delay is usually the basis for loop stations.

If you haven't had the chance to hear a loop station, check out this video below. It shows just an average guy and how he tries out his own personal riffs with his nifty loop station and creates some neat things.



3. It sounds great on a clean channel.

I know that a lot of electric players hate the idea of losing power or depth when they play in a clean channel, but here's an excuse to do it. There's just something mesmerizing about hearing a delay effect on a clean channel electric. Try it.

So how can you get carried away with the power of delay?

1. It can clash with other guitars in a full band setting.

Delay for guitar is great when it's by itself, but when it starts inviting friends over, it gets nosy and wants to top everybody else. Use it sparingly in a full band, because you might be just taking away from the pure abilities of your natural tone.

2. Delays with long echoes are annoying.

This might just be personal preference, but when I hear a delay pedal where a lot of notes are being played and the echo goes on into infinity... my ears just turn off and I'm not interested anymore. Anyone else?

3. You have to be particular with your delay preferences.

Not every song can be easily improved with the same settings for a delay pedal. Remember that you can slow down the delay rate, the echo length, and the amount of effect to include.

I think delay pedals are the bomb, but sometimes they're not serving tunes as well as they could be because of the guitarists operating them.

Go out and try one for yourself, but watch out... they're addictive :]

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How To Guitar Tune

When you consider yourself good enough on guitar for a rock band audition, that's when things can be exciting. You may have learned that your friends are looking for a new guitarist and you think you stand a decent chance of making the cut.

However, if they conduct this audition in a very professional manner, what should you be working on to make sure you stand a chance? There are quite a few things that can help a panel of band members decide if they want to include you in their group. Here are a few of them:

* Find out the required material to learn.

Most bands will just come out and say exactly the tunes that you need to learn in order to jam with them and be considered for anything. If they don't, you'll need to ask questions about the music they like and the songs they already know.

If you're ambitious and want to make a good impression, learn more songs than you're required. It will really show them that you're willing to work hard to get what you want.

* Learn their fashions.

As judgmental as it sounds, band members are likely to survey your taste in clothing and make a very deep impression based on that alone, before you even play. Check out some of the threads that your possible band mates are sporting and attempt some subtle conformity for best results.

* Bring extra equipment in case of a disaster.

If there's a chance that your guitar, amp, pedals, or strings might fail you at this rock band audition, you need to be prepared. Bring extras of anything that might be at risk of screwing up your audition.

* Be agreeable and polite.

Of course your guitar-playing comes into judgment with these guys, but they want to know that you'll work well with them and be polite. Express very good manners and keep the swearing to a minimum unless you find that to be their casual language choice.

* Be yourself.

If you walk in and put on a show that isn't really you, they might expect this "fake" version of you any time after the rock band audition. If you just be yourself, you're more likely to play better, be more confident, and have a better chance of getting the spot in general.

* Accept their decision gracefully.

There's no better way to show your mature character than accepting the band's decision, whether good or bad, with dignity. Even if they don't choose you, just knowing that you were so understanding of their decision will keep you in high consideration if their first choice doesn't work out.

It's a bit tricky to know what a band might want when you try out for them, but getting a sense of how they work and interact is half of the mystery. So when you go to your rock band audition, put on your sharpest clothes, learn your sickest riffs, and be confident in your abilities.

This video has really nothing to do with a band audition, but this guy is a very talented musician who is covering a very talented musician named William Fitzsimmons.



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How To Guitar Tune